Effects of a school readiness intervention for children in foster care on oppositional and aggressive behaviors in kindergarten

One hundred ninety-two children in foster care participated in a randomized efficacy trial of a school readiness intervention, the Kids In Transition to School (KITS) Program, designed to increase literacy, social, and self-regulation skills in children before kindergarten entry. One hundred two children were randomly assigned to the KITS intervention and 90 were randomly assigned to the foster care services as usual comparison group. At the end of the kindergarten year, teachers were asked to report on the children's oppositional and aggressive behaviors in the classroom. Controlling for gender, baseline levels of parent-reported oppositional and aggressive behaviors, and level of disruptiveness in the classroom, children who had received the intervention had significantly lower levels of oppositional and aggressive behaviors in the classroom. Findings suggest that an intervention designed to increase school readiness in children in foster care can have positive effects on kindergarten classroom behavior.     

Framing in Legislation: The Case of Population Policy in the Philippines

This paper investigates the political framing of population in policy discourse through an analysis of legislative documents. Semantic network analysis was conducted and results were interpreted through discourse analysis of the typical arguments identified. Policy texts were classified into three sets: population management, reproductive health and family planning, and anti-abortion and anti-FP. While the “population management” frame focuses on social and economic consequences of population growth, the “reproductive health” frame defines the problem from a health perspective. Both policies propose aggressive FP programs but each frame uses distinct political rhetoric and semantic approach in its arguments. The “anti-abortion and anti-FP” frame identifies two problems: rise in incidence of abortion and existing policy that prohibit health professionals from refusing patients information on contraception. By invoking a moral argument and anchoring on rights, these policies challenge the problem and solutions identified by the first two frames.     

Another Look at Classic Strain Theory: Poverty Status, Perceived Blocked Opportunity, and Gang Membership as Predictors of Adolescent Violent Behavior

An extensive amount of criminological research has focused on the relationship between the inability of adolescents to achieve financial success or middle-class status through legitimate channels and their subsequent involvement in delinquency. This genre of research is commonly recognized as structural-strain theory. As the efficacy of this theory has periodically been questioned, this study addresses some of the methodological and theoretical issues associated with structural-strain theory. Using a sample of 8,338 adolescents from a southern state, we use a structural equations model to test a hypothesized sequence ultimately leading to delinquent behavior. We believe that this method is more appropriate than more traditional methods (e.g., multiple regression) for investigating some of the linkages specified in previous strain models. Our results support structural-strain theory, though the hypothesized model has more predictive power among European American than African American youth. Explanations are given for these differential findings, and recommendations for future studies are suggested.     

Deindustrialization, Female-Headed Families, and Black and White Juvenile Homicide Rates, 1970-1990

Recent research in urban sociology posits that the proliferation of female-headed families in American cities is a result of declining economic prospects due to profound changes in the structure of the urban economy. Meanwhile, macro-level theory and research in criminology suggest that an association exists between family structure and rates of lethal violence among juveniles. Given these two streams of sociological thought, there is good reason to expect that increases in juvenile homicide rates since 1970 may be due, in part, to changes in the structure of the economy and the family during the 1970 to 1990 period. However, the nexus between deindustrialization, female-headed families, and juvenile homicide has received little attention in extant research. The objective of the current study is to remedy this gap in the literature by bringing together ideas about deindustrialization and female headship in an attempt to explain city-level changes in Black and White juvenile homicide rates between 1970 and 1990. In particular, the research investigates the hypothesis that a decline in the manufacturing base of cities increased rates of female headship and thereby indirectly raised homicide rates. Race differences in the hypothesized structural relationships also are examined.     

Building a worldwide evaluation community: past, present, and future

This article describes recent efforts to build a worldwide evaluation community. It notes events that led to an almost 200 percent growth in the number of regional and national evaluation organizations in slightly more than one year. Profiles are provided on the present status of many national and regional evaluation organizations that participated in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-sponsored international evaluation meeting in Barbados, West Indies. Afterwards, the authors engage in a scenario planning exercise to picture alternatives of what the future of international evaluation might look like.     

Analytical representation of probabilities under the IAC condition

This paper extends the work of Gehrlein and Fishburn (1976) and Gehrlein (1982) by providing a general theorem relating to the analytical representation of the probability of an event in a given space of profiles. It applies to any event characterized by a set of linear inequalities regardless of whether the coefficients defining the inequalities are integer or fractional coefficients. An algorithm for the probability calculation is also suggested. This suggested methodology is used to provide a complete characterization of the vulnerability properties of the four scoring rules studied in Lepelley and Mbih (1994) to manipulation by coalitions in a 3-alternative n-agent society. Received: 21 October 1997/Accepted 19 November 1998     

Modeling the Effects of Expressed Emotion,Psychiatric Symptomology,and Marital Quality Levels on Male and Female Verbal Aggression

Previous research has linked expressed emotion (EE) levels and psychiatric symptomology, whereas other empirical efforts have examined the relationship between EE and marital relationship variables. Still other research has linked psychological conditions with acts of aggression, and the impact of marital issues within this domain of inquiry also has been explored. The study presented here examined the combined effects of EE, marital quality, and psychiatric symptomology on displays of verbal aggression by both relationship partners. Both husbands' and wives' reports of marital quality were predictive of both husbands' and wives' verbal aggression levels; here, reports of lower marital quality were associated with higher levels of verbal aggression. Additionally, husbands' and wives' reports of psychological symptomology in self and partner were important paths to marital quality, as were husbands' and wives' reports of EE levels. Further, some evidence was generated that supports the mediating role of marital quality with regard to EE and psychological symptomology. However, the overall fit indices of the models tested in this empirical effort were modest. Limitations that concern the instruments utilized in the present study are discussed in this regard.     

Drinking Game Participation Among Undergraduate Students Attending National Alcohol Screening Day

Abstract

Objectives, Participants, Methods: Drinking game participation has increased in popularity among college students and is associated with increased alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. The current study investigated drinking game participation among 133 undergraduates attending National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD) in April of 2007. Results: A large percentage of the sample reported lifetime (77%) and recent (52%) drinking game participation. Males were more likely to report recent participation and reported higher levels of consumption while playing drinking games. Drinking game participants were more likely to experience a range of alcohol-related problems, and the relationship between drinking game participation and alcohol-related problems was mediated by weekly alcohol consumption. Conclusions: These results suggest that drinking game participation is a risk factor for elevated levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Programs should be developed to educate students about the risks of drinking game participation, and prevention programs like NASD should address drinking games.